Reinforced spare tire carrier

JEJ0308

JEJ0308

New member
Maybe someone has already proposed this idea, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere.
Rather than spending hundreds on a heavy duty spare tire carrier and/or bumper, would it be possible to use the existing carrier and mounting points, drill all the way thru the tailgate, and reinforce the inside with something like a spare tire delete plate? May have to be a little thicker plate actually, but the holes would line up, use some nuts and bolts to sandwich the whole thing together, and viola, no popped welds!
I guess the next question would be; are the stock hinges sturdy enough to bare the weight of something like, say a 35 in tire? I know people don't always upgrade the tire carrier, and not everybody has issues with welds popping, but this seems like a simple, and cheap way to beef up that section of the tailgate.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
The tailgate is two pieces of thin sheet metal. If you don't set your tire up properly it won't hold up. I have never seen hinges fail.
 
MedixJK

MedixJK

-
JEJ0308 said:
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Rather than spending hundreds on a heavy duty spare tire carrier and/or bumper, would it be possible to use the existing carrier and mounting points, drill all the way thru the tailgate, and reinforce the inside with something like a spare tire delete plate?
Click to expand...
There is a reason no one has done it. the problem is that the gate is just a hollow panel with next-to-nothing for structural integrity. The hinges are stout like Overlander said, but thats not the issue.
 
JEJ0308

JEJ0308

New member
So what I'm hearing is that there's really no way to beef up that particular part of the tailgate. At the very least you would want to somehow tie the carrier into the hinges (teraflex, rugged ridge, bestop, etc), which I guess isn't so bad, still not cheap tho.
Its just tough to spend 1100-1200 on four new tires, then drop another $700+ for the spare and hardware to carry it, know what I mean;)
Oh well, I guess it's gotta be done.
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
What's exactly wrong with you factory carrier that you feel you need to beef it up? Or have you just been reading garbage on the Internet?
 
MR.Ty

MR.Ty

Token East Coast Guy
JEJ0308 said:
So what I'm hearing is that there's really no way to beef up that particular part of the tailgate. At the very least you would want to somehow tie the carrier into the hinges (teraflex, rugged ridge, bestop, etc), which I guess isn't so bad, still not cheap tho.
Its just tough to spend 1100-1200 on four new tires, then drop another $700+ for the spare and hardware to carry it, know what I mean;)
Oh well, I guess it's gotta be done.
Click to expand...

Crawler Conceptz body mounted tire carrier is $499 last time I checked.

The stock one can support a 35 by only making sure the tire is isolated properly but you'll probably just ignore this paragraph.
 
DGP

DGP

New member
MR.Ty said:
Crawler Conceptz body mounted tire carrier is $499 last time I checked.

The stock one can support a 35 by only making sure the tire is isolated properly but you'll probably just ignore this paragraph.
Click to expand...

I just installed the Crawler concepts about a month ago. I have a 37" mounted to it and it operates flawlessly. I was concerned that the body mount might not be strong enough to hold the weight but it seems very solid and I can't detect any flex when opening and closing the gate. I wasn't fast enough to get it for $499 thou, I paid $600. I'd say it's a no brainer for $500.
 
JEJ0308

JEJ0308

New member
Overlander; probably mostly reading junk online, but in the next couple months I will be putting on some 35s and seeing as I will be spending a chunk for tires, lift, etc, I won't be investing in a spare carrier right away. Yeah I could wait, save up a little extra, and do it all at once, but who ever wants to do that;)
 
OverlanderJK

OverlanderJK

Resident Smartass
JEJ0308 said:
Overlander; probably mostly reading junk online, but in the next couple months I will be putting on some 35s and seeing as I will be spending a chunk for tires, lift, etc, I won't be investing in a spare carrier right away. Yeah I could wait, save up a little extra, and do it all at once, but who ever wants to do that;)
Click to expand...

Well I've put 60k miles on my jeep with the factory carrier and 35's so I must be doing something wrong. Also just threw a 37 on it.
 
JEJ0308

JEJ0308

New member
Nice! And yeah, you must be doing something wrong. From everything I've read on the interwebs, something definitely should have broke by now.
Well that goes to show you, ya cant believe everything you read online, who woulda thunk it. But seriously, that does give me some reassurance. Maybe I'll upgrade down the road if I do the bumpers, but for now, stock carrier it is.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
JEJ0308 said:
Overlander; probably mostly reading junk online, but in the next couple months I will be putting on some 35s and seeing as I will be spending a chunk for tires, lift, etc, I won't be investing in a spare carrier right away. Yeah I could wait, save up a little extra, and do it all at once, but who ever wants to do that;)
Click to expand...

the thing that will cause damage to the tail gate is if the tire has any flex once mounted on the carrier. if wheel does not mate to the face of the carrier and your bump stops are not against the tire you're more likely to have issues especially if you wheel often.
 
mudmobeeler

mudmobeeler

Caught the Bug
JEJ0308 said:
Its just tough to spend 1100-1200 on four new tires, then drop another $700+ for the spare and hardware to carry it, know what I mean;)
Oh well, I guess it's gotta be done.
Click to expand...

If you only buy four you won't have to worry about beefing up the carrier. [emoji16][emoji106]

Seriously though, I've been running 35s on the stock carrier for over 10k miles and no issues yet.
 
DGP

DGP

New member
I ran 33" tires on my stock tailgate for 6 years. Then I put 35" tires on it for another year. The gate still worked and nothing fell apart but I could see some sag at the hinges. Was it the end of the world? No way. Was I about to mount my new 37's on it? No way! I figured after 9 years the jeep earned a tire carrier and why not reinforce the hinge at the same time. The Crawler conceptz hinge carrier fit the bill and my tailgate earned it. Don't be too scared to run a 35" tire on a stock gate but keep an eye on it.
 
kyle521

kyle521

Member
EVO posted a teaser pic of a new body mounted carrier and said it would be released in march, but havent heard or seen anything on it yet
 
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